DC Comics Reveals New Direction for Nightwing in Rebirth

Dick Grayson's past is coming back to haunt him.

By
Jesse Schedeen

Big changes are coming for Nightwing in late 2018. DC has revealed (via CBR) the new creative team that will be taking over the series as of December's Nightwing #35 - writer Sam Humphries (Green Lanterns) and artist Bernard Chang (Supergirl).

With this new creative team comes a new direction for the series. Humphries and Chang's first story arc, titled "The Untouchable," will center around a cold case murder from Dick's Gotham City days that returns to haunt him in Bludhaven. That case will enable the creators to explore Dick's past as Robin and his college years. “The new villain is a devious new creation by me and Bernard — a murderous cold case from Nightwing’s past," Humphries told CBR. "But to fully unravel the scope of this guy, and to dig deep into Nightwing as a character, we’re going to experience some of his early days as Robin, and also his time as Hudson University student, Dick Grayson. It’s all tied together — his history is part of what makes him so exciting.”

Nightwing #35 cover by Yasmine Putri. (DC Comics)

Humphries also spoke about the importance of following the example set by current writer Tim Seeley and continuing to flesh out Dick's supporting cast and rogues gallery. "One of my favorite things from the run is, Tim understood that Nightwing is a great hero in his own right. He needs his own top shelf villains, supporting cast, and city environment. Bernard and I are keeping that tradition alive. We’ve got a new bad guy, we’ll be developing his supporting cast (both friendly and unpleasant), and we’ll be exploring the past and present of Blüdhaven. ‘Nightwing The Untouchable’ is gonna be filled with crazy ideas and big street-level action, all threatening to collapse on our star character, Dick Grayson."

Unfortunately, this new assignment also marks the end of Humphries' tenure on Green Lanterns. No replacement team for that series has been revealed yet.